Closet-cistern and valve therefor.



PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

No. 758,970. P. JACKSON.

CLOSET GISTERN AND VALVE THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED HAY 4, 1903.

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No. 758,970. PATBNTED' M13390;

P. JACKSON. I CLOSET GISTBRN AND VALVE THEREFOR.

APPLIOATIOI FILED KAY 4, '1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 3, 1904.-

PATENT OFFICE.

CLOSET-CISTERN AND VALVE THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 758,976, dated May 3,1904.

i Application filed May 4, 1903. Serial No. 155,614. (No model.)

are to provide adevice of this character which shall be simple ofconstruction, cheap to manufacture, durable in use, and not liable toget out of order and one in which a waste of water. is obviated and thegurgling noise caused by the inrush of air prevented.

With these and other objects in view, which will readily appear as thenature of the invenwhich will be hereinafter fully described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which? Figure1 is a vertical section throughmy Fig. 2 is a top-view. Fig. 3 is adetail view of the;

improved closet-cistern. of the same.

v latch for holding the inlet-valve open. Fig. 4

is a section through a modified form of cistern. Flg. '5 1s a sectionthrough a cistern, showlng a slight modification of the form shown ininlet-valve of the cistern.

Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional view'through the Fig. 7 is a similar viewthrough a modified form of inlet-valve.

Referring more particularly to the first three figures ofthe drawings, 1denotes the cistern or tank, which may be mounted upon any suitablesupport, and 2 the flushing or outlet pipe projecting vertically upthrough the bottom of the cistern to the normal level of the water,which is denoted, by the dotted line in Fig.1. The inverted cylinder orcasing 3, surrounding the open upper end of the pipe 2, coacts with thelatter to form a siphon. The cylinder 3 is supported and spaced abovethe bottom of the tank by the legs 4 and is provided in its top with anopening for adthe inlet-valve l7.

' mitting air to break the siphon. Said opening may be closed by thevalve 5, which is hinged at 6 to the cylinder and provided with anextension or arm 7 1 3 denotes an air tube or pipe within the cylinder3, having its upper end extending slightly above the upper end of theflushingpipe .2 and having its lower end communicating with the outsideof the cylinder through the opening 3 a To one side of the cylinder 3 isa transverse vertical partition or wall 8, which extends above thenormal water-level and separates the cistern into two compartments,which are in communication through the openings or apertures 9 in thebottom of the partition.

Secured to the side walls of the cistern are vertical strips orstops 10,to the lower ends tion 12, which is operated by a cord or chain 13,secured to its upper end and passed over a'convenient pulleyl i, mountedon =the cis= tern, and from thence extends downwardly and isprovidedwith the usual hand piece or grip, A weight 15 is secured to themoving partition to return it to its normal position."

I 16 denotes the supply or inlet pipe, which' is coupled to the lowerend of the casingofi' tion of the casing 35 and is adaptedto be TheValve17, s showrri'n 8o closed or forced down upon its seat by thepressure of the water above it. A passage 36 h in the casing permits thewater topass from the inlet-pipe 16 to. apoint in the casing above thevalve. In said casing-at apoint below the valve-seat is formed aslotted'projection 37, in which the operating-lever 38 is pivoted i at39. The inner end or toe of 1 this lever is adapted to engage the underside of the valve 17 to' elevate the sameand permit the water I to passfrom. the passage 36 under-the valve 17 and then out into the tankthrough the perforations/1O in said casing below the valveseat. Theouter end of the valve-operating 19 is pivoted at one end in the bracket21, which is provided with a series of apertures 22, whereby the fulcrumof the lever may be changed. The free end of the lever 19 is tapered andprovided with an enlarged beveled end 23, which is adapted to operate ina slotted guide 24, supported by across-bar 25. A coil-spring 19 holdsthe lever 19 elevated.

26 denotes a Ushaped latch pivoted at 27 to the guide 24. The arms 28 ofthe latch are adapted to be engaged and operated by the float 29, whichslides upon a guide-rod 30, adjustably secured to the free end of thelever 19 by the nuts 31. The float 29 may be of any desiredconstruction, that illustrated in the drawings being hollow and formedwith an open bottom. If desired, I may usean open top float or a sealedfloat. The lower end of the guide-rod 30 is provided with a stop orplate 32 to engage and limit the movement of the float.

In the modification of the inlet-valve shown in Fig. 7 I have provided abalance-valve. Two valves 17 a and 17 are formed upon the samevalve-stem 42, which stem when elevated by the lever 38 will raise saidvalves from their seats and permit the water to pass upwardly'betweenthe valve 17 b and its seat and downwardly between the valve 17 a andits seat.

The operation of the device shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is as follows:When the cord or chain 13 is pulled down, the moving partition 12 isswung up until it is stopped by the strips 10; The'movement of thepartition 12 forces the water confined between itself and the fixedpartition 8 to a level, above the upper end of the flushing-pipe 2, andthe water rushing down the said pipe will start the siphon. The weight15 will return the partition 12 to its normal position when the cord 13is released. The water in both compartments of the cistern will bedischarged through the pipe 2, which, as shown, has a flared upper end,until the continued lowering of the float 29 after it contacts with thestop 32 upon the guiderod draws the lever 19 down until it contacts withthe arm 7 and raises the air-inlet valve 5 to admit air into thecylinder 3 to stop or break'the siphon. The instant that the valve 5 isopened the water in the tank is below the opening 3 in the pipe 3,andair also enters the cylinder through said pipe. The lowering of thelever 19 forces the valve-lever 38 down to open valve 17 and allow waterto enter the tank to refill the same. The bevel end 23 of the lever 19as the same lowers acts on the upper portion 26 of the U-shaped catch,rocks the latter on its pivot 27, passes below the said upper end 26 ofthe latch,and becomes engaged thereby, the arm 28 of the latch holdingthe upper end 26 thereof in engagement with the lever and locking thelatter in a lowered position, and hence keeping the inlet-valve 17 andthe air-valve 6 open. As the tank refills the float 29 rises with thelevel of the water until it contacts with the arm 28 of the latch 26,rocks the latter in the reverse direction to disengage its upper end 26from the end of the lever 19, and hence releases said lever. As soon asthe lever is free the coil-spring19' draws it up, and thereby releasesthe valve-lever 38 to permit the pressure of the water to close theinlet-valve 17. The valve 5 is also permitted to drop to its seat andclose the cylinder 3. The chamber formed by the partition 8 and in whichthe float is located prevents the float from being affected by theaction of the wave-making partition 12.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings Idispense with the partitions 8 and 12, and in order to start the siphonI raise the level of the water in the entire tank by submerging orpartially submerging the large float 4E5. Said float is in the form ofan inverted tray or a box with an open bottom and is of suflicient sizeto displace enough water to start the siphon. It is adapted to floatupon the surface of the water and is guided and limited in its verticalmovement by guide rods or tubes 16 and 47. These guides projectvertically from the bottom of the tank,and their upper ends are adaptedto enter the guide-tubes 48, secured in the float 45. Shoulders or lugs49 upon the guides 46 and 47 limit the downward movement of the float asthe water lowers in the tank. The guide 47 is preferably tubular inorder to permit the operating-cord 13 to pass through the same and thefloat. Instead of having the siphon-cylinder 3 fixed as in Fig. 1 Iattach the cylinder to the float so that it will rise and fall with thesame. The air-inlet to said cylinder for the purpose of stopping thesiphoningaction comprises the lateral ly-projeeting tube 50, thedownturned open end of which forms a valve-seat. A valve 50 upon the upperend of the vertically-sliding rod or stem 51 is adapted to coact withsaid seat to close the air-inlet. Said rod slides in suitable guides 52and carries upon its lower end a small float 53. The buoyancy ofthisfloat holds the valve upon its seat, and when the water lowers to acertain point the said valve will become unseated to admit air into thecylinder 3 to break the siphon, as will be readily understood. Aprojection or stop 54; limits the drop or downward movement of the floatSuitably pivoted in the bracket or lugs 54 upon the top of the largefloat 4:5 is alever 55, having both of its ends forked to engage thelever 19. The operating-cord 13 is attached to one arm of this lever andpasses downwardly through the float 45, the guide-tube 4:7, and thetank. The lever 19, which corresponds to the lever 19 in Fig. 1, has itsfree end provided with a weight 56, and its upward movement under theaction of the lever 55, as hereinafter explained, is limited by theprojection or lug 57. In the operation of this form of my invention adownward pull upon the operating-cord13 will force the float downwardlyto the limit of its movement, since one end of the forked lever 55 willbe prevented from being elevated, owing'to its engagement with the lever19", which is held down by the stop 57 The downward movement of thefloat will elevate the level of the water in the tank, and thus startthe siphon to discharge the water from the flushing-pipe 2. The releaseof the cord 13 will permit the lever 19 to drop and open the inlet-valve17. As the water in the tank lowers the float 53 will be operated toopen the air-inlet to the cylinder 3 and stop or break the siphon, aspreviously explained. As the water rises said air-inlet will be closedagain by the valve When the water elevates the float 45', the verticalprojection or stud 58 will raise the lever 19* to release thevalve-lever 38 and permit the water-pressure to close the waterinletvalve 17.

.The modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 is very similar tothat shown in Fig. 4. The siphon-cylinder 3 is fixed or stationary, asin Fig. 1. The float 45 is smaller than the one shown in Fig. 4, and theforked lever is pivoted to a cross-bar 59. With these exceptions theconstruction and operation of the parts shown are the same as thosepreviously described. It will be seen that this arrangeinent ofthevarious parts makes the apparatus strong, durable, and eflicient inoperation, and there is little liability of the parts getting out oforder, as there are no valves in the flushing-pipe below the water-leveland no valve is necessary to start the siphon.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is thought that the construction, mode ofoperation, and advantages of my improved cistern and flushing-valve willbe readily ap parent without requiring a more extended eX- ciple orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. A flushing device of the classdescribed, comprising a vessel, a supply-pipe thereto having aninlet-valve, a lever connected to the valve to operate it, a spring toraise the lever to close the valve, a float to lower the lever to openthe valve, and having limited vertical movement independent of thelever, a siphon to discharge from the vessel, a valve to admit air tobreakthe siphon and opened'by the descent of the lever, and means tolock the lever when lowered, said lever-locking means being releasedfrom the .lever by the ascent of the float.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a vessel, awater-supply therefor having a valve, a lever to operate the valve andhaving a bevel 23 on its under side at its outer end, a float, a guidetherefor, and a pivoted latch having means to engage the float and meansoperated by the downward movement and the bevel of the lever, to engageand detain the latter when the latch is disengaged from the float.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set WM. P. GRANT, Y RGRAHAM.

